Year of the Spark: May 23rd
by Sparky Army
Summary: John’s attention was held again by her, and he leaned in closer whispering, “Having fun, Elizabeth?”


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree. _

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

Note from the author (Chicky): The weather is hot on Atlantis. The expedition members are hot. John and Elizabeth find a way to escape from the heat. I blame this on the hot weather at my house. My muse returned fried and now it lives in the smut pond.

* * *

**Away From The Heat**

by Chicky (Beach Chick)

* * *

Sweat was pouring down Elizabeth's back, and her clothes stuck to her as she sat in front of her desk. A mountain of paper work was waiting patiently for her on the edge of her desk, but she was too boiling to notice. Instead, she grabbed the first manila folder on the top of the stack and started using it as a fan to cool off her face. This gave her a temporary relief from the heat wave they'd been stuck in for days, but she still felt like she was melting into a mess of sticky sweat. She had already used up all of her excuses for the day to escape to the shower, but nothing had helped cool her off for more than a few seconds.

Elizabeth thought of the rest of the team and knew that she wasn't the only one feeling this distraught over the weather. The temperature had gotten so high that she had to suspend gate travel and other activities because the teams were getting too overheated in their uniforms. No one was thinking straight in this weather and this included their choice of wardrobe. She didn't have the strength to stop expedition members anymore because of inappropriate attire. She looked down at her revealing red tank top, green shorts and sandals, and sighed. Her appearance could also be considered less than professional.

When she tried to rise from her chair and felt sweat start to drip onto the floor, Elizabeth felt mortified, and she knew she needed to do something to cool herself off. Rodney had said this heat wave would pass in the next few days, and teams had been distributing water all day, but Elizabeth felt like she was slowly dying in her clothes. Suddenly an idea occurred to her, and the first smile in days appeared on her face. She walked out of her office and informed the staff in the gate room that she would be unavailable for the next few hours and not to disturb her. Once free of the gate room, she dropped her headset off at her room, and Elizabeth hurried down the hall.

Her smile grew wider when she reached her destination. After making sure the coast was clear, she quickly entered the room and shut the door behind her. The lights responded automatically, and she found the object she was looking for in the middle of the room. There were four chairs connected to the device, and she chose the first one to sit in. Her clothes immediately stuck uncomfortably onto the chairs surface, but she ignored the feeling and reached for the panel in front of the chair. It swung in her direction. Once it was in front of her, she grabbed for the glasses next to her chair and put them over her eyes. She pushed a few buttons on the panel and the machine turned on. Her vision went black and then images of different places appeared in front of her eyes immediately. Elizabeth found a place that looked much more appealing than where she was stuck now. She tapped a few buttons on the panel personalizing the settings, and she emerged into the virtual reality feeling refreshed and very much alive.

* * *

John had just stepped out of the shower and felt a blast of hot air wash over him killing the cool feeling he has just gotten from the water. He started grumbling under his breath as he started feeling sticky all over again. He was angry to say the least. Nothing he was doing was working to keep him cool. He had even stopped wearing a shirt which had lead to blatant stares and gaping opened mouths from most of the female members of the expedition. Responses like this usually made John feel powerful and wanted, but in this weather, it was just getting awkward and annoying. If he had to admit it to himself, he was feeling a little self conscious. He wasn't the only one who has stopped wearing a shirt, and he felt a little intimidated by his Satedan friend who was getting just as many if not more stares than himself.

John was sure about one thing, though. He was seeing a lot more skin from certain members of the team than he had before. An image of Elizabeth in her red tank top and shorts came into John's mind while he dressed, and he let himself secretly indulge in the memory of her from earlier that day. He left his room knowing that he shouldn't be having these thoughts about the expedition leader. He tried to shake the vision of her that had been imprinted into his mind, but he couldn't stop her from invading his thoughts revealing to himself secret wants and desires he thought he'd buried a long time ago.

As he walked down the hall, his thoughts shifted to a conversation they had had earlier that day. She had admitted that the heat was getting under her skin, and he knew from her confession that she was miserable just like the rest of them. He wondered what she was doing at that moment, and he decided to go look for her. John grabbed two water bottles out of the stand that had been set up in the hallway. John was determined to find her, give her water, and he'd try to cheer her up. He tapped his head piece.

"Elizabeth?" He asked.

There was no reply. He thought that was odd. She always left her head-set on except for when she was asleep, and he knew that she liked to keep it near her bed in case she was needed during the night.

He tapped his head piece again and asked the technician in the gate room if he knew where their fearless leader had gone.

"I have no idea, sir. She just said that she wasn't going to be unavailable for a few hours."

Puzzled, he thanked the technician for the information and headed to her room.

He rang her door multiple times, but there was no answer. He headed to the commissary even more determined to find her. On the way there, he saw the lights on in one of the labs. No one should be in there without Elizabeth's permission. He expected the opportunity to chew out a new recruit or a nosy expedition member for being in a restricted area, but to his surprise it was not a recruit he found using the machine inside.

John entered the lab and studied the expedition leader's appearance. She was sweating profusely like he was, but despite this fact, a content smile lingered on her face. John's eyes were drawn to the screen in front of them. He eyed the picture wishing he was anywhere else but suffering in the heat. Elizabeth had the right idea to escape for a few hours in the virtual reality system. Before he could decide on his next course of action, a sigh escaped Elizabeth's mouth. John's attention was held again by her, and he leaned in closer whispering, "Having fun, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth jumped in surprise, and John hid his grin even though he knew Elizabeth couldn't see him at all.

"John?" She asked startled. He detected surprise and was that panic in her voice? "What are you doing here?" She turned her head this way and that, but she was blind to his presence as long as the glasses distorted her reality.

"I came to find you," he said. "Feeling better?"

She visibly relaxed. "I'm feeling so much better than I was before. This…feels amazing."

As she talked, he casually found himself in the chair next to her. He plugged himself into the system, and took hold of his panel.

He grinned in her direction. "I guess you won't mind me joining you then."

Elizabeth felt the reality shift. "No John. Wait! Stop!"

A gap in the virtual world opened in front of her, and John fell through landing in the cold water below. Elizabeth swam towards him worried he'd drown, but he resurfaced a few moments later and sputtered out water.

"Jeez, Elizabeth you could've warned me about this."

"Warned you? You could have warned me," she said creating some distance between them.

John looked down an sworn under his breath. "You really should have warned me," he said flinching at the lack of clothing. There was actually no clothing on either of them only water in the cove surrounded them on all side.

"I um…personalized the settings a little."

"That is the biggest understatement. We have no clothes on."

"I was hot, okay," she said defensively. "John, I did tell you to stop."

"How could I, Elizabeth, when you were enjoying yourself so much? Besides," he said leaning back against the rocks on the side of the pool like area, "I'd much rather be here with you than back sweating in the heat on Atlantis."

Elizabeth let her eyes wander over his appearance. He was soaking wet. His hair was drenched, but it still stuck up in cute angles all over his head. She couldn't see anything below the water level, but she couldn't help the inappropriate thoughts that all of a sudden invaded her brain. John studied her expression, and he was pretty sure that he knew what she was thinking.

He watched her with his eyes, and hers flickered back to his. "So," he said casually. "What do you think we should do for the next few hours?"

* * *

Unknown to John and Elizabeth, at that moment, both Rodney and Radek were walking around the corner and were heading toward the lab.

"Rodney, I don't think this is such a good idea," Radek said in his heavy accent.

"I didn't ask you to come with me," Rodney said. "In fact, I asked you not to." He rolled his eyes. "You're the one who decided to tag along."

"I'm here to try and stop you. No one is supposed to be in here without Dr. Weir's permission. You heard her reasons."

"No one can seem to find her, and I want to study this virtual device." The need to study the device was nagging at the back of Rodney's brain, but a greater need to use the device to escape the heat was a more appealing option.

They entered the lab and stopped short of the door. Their mouths dropped to the floor at the sight of their military commander and expedition leader already occupying two of the chairs.

Rodney recovered from his shock first and folded his arms over his chest and looked at Radek. "She said no one could use this device." He whispered pouting like a kid who found out someone was allowed to do something fun that was denied to him.

"We'd better go," Radek said.

"Not so fast," Rodney whispered again. "I want to know where they are." He walked over to the screen. A beautiful landscape surrounded by water lay before him. "That's not fair," Rodney pouted.

"Why are you whispering?" Radek asked. "There are two bodies in the virtual world. Neither can hear you now."

"It just seems like a good idea," McKay said. "I'm joining them," he added letting the picture of paradise outweigh his good sense. "I'm sick of this heat. I'll take the chance to escape this weather."

"You know they might not want you to join them," Radek said studying their facial expressions. They were sweating like the two of them, but they looked really content and almost smug.

"Are you going to join me or stay here and complain?" Rodney demanded an answer.

Zelenka looked over at the chair next to him, and thought about his miserable condition on Atlantis.

"I'm joining you, but if we get in trouble, this is all your fault."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Just sit down."

* * *

Elizabeth and John were too preoccupied by their current position to care about the splashes they heard farther down the cove. They had found a shallow area apart from the area they'd been in before. She sighed contently and leaned against John as he left a trail of tender kisses on the nape of her neck.

"John…" she said as a breathy sigh escaped her lips. The water continued to sway around them creating a calming and relaxing feeling in both of them.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked running his hands back and forth over the small of her back.

"No" she said with more force than she intended. "Please don't stop." She leaned closer to him letting her bare back touch his chest. His mouth continued the assault on her neck while he brought his hands up to her sides. His fingers gently traced lines up her sides and over her stomach. She gave a little gasp, and John grinned wickedly and whispered in her ear.

"I'm really glad I decided to join you."

She sighed resting her head back on his shoulder. His arms circled around her holding onto her possessively as they lounged in the shallow water. "You're more like torturing me," she said. "I'm feeling hotter than I was on Atlantis."

John felt her cheek. "You are flushed, and the water is cool. I must be me who's making you feel this way," he grinned and breathed more hot air onto her neck .

"You're very…mean. Did you know that?" Elizabeth teased as his breath sent shivers of warmth down her spine.

"It's all part of the job description," John teased back.

"ELIZABETH!" Rodney's voice was heard over the sound of the waterfall behind them.

His yelling was followed by an, "Oh my…" from Radek.

The two of them split apart in less than a second.

"Were you two in the middle of something?" Rodney asked not at all bothered that he and Radek swam in on their two leaders in a very compromising situation.

"Not anymore," John grumbled, and Elizabeth sank lower in the water.

"Oh well then we'll just join you," Rodney said. "The no clothes is a nice change."

John and Elizabeth just looked at each other and sighed.

The End

AN: Feedback is love.


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